Description (eng):
Large-sized multitouch displays become, little by little, more affordable for public institutions and companies. As a result, these novel devices enjoy increasing popularity and besides various applications games will be used on them. But the principles and guidelines for designing multitouch games cannot be carried over from traditional PC or console games. Addressing this problem, the goal of this master thesis is the research on design guidelines for games which will fulfill the requirements of multitouch surfaces in public spaces. At the beginning of this master thesis the main terms to work on the given goal are defined. Because of the fact that multitouch games must comply with the game design fundamentals, these basics will be explained in the following chapter. Following, the guidelines for multitouch surfaces in public spaces and the particular requirements of games designed for this purpose become determined. In addition, the design of multitouch games is developed, including the start of the interaction, the design of interaction objects, the development of a good interaction design, possibilities to give feedback as well as the design of the gameplay. This thesis also highlights opportunities to identify players and the sound design of multitouch games in public spaces followed by heuristics for the evaluation of multitouch games. Based on the research results the recommended design principles given in the literature for games running on multitouch displays in public spaces are specified. In consideration of the recommendations various game designs become evaluated by a user experience test. As the last point a short prospect concerning future research is stated. Multitouch games for public spaces should be casual and lightweight, simple to understand and operate as well as suitable for various populations. Additionally, games should allow people to initiate, join or leave at any time and encourage group play and communication. For that reason games must be controllable orientation independent. Not only the gameplay but also the choice and position of interaction objects have to be optimized for the usage on multitouch displays. Clear states of the interaction objects and a consistent interaction model provide the basis for a good interaction design. Consequently, consistent Feedback is of particular importance. The possibilities of interaction should refer to the users’ existing knowledge and experience and fulfill their expectations. The implemented gestures should be natural as well as intuitive and fit to the intended purpose. The user experience test confirms the recommended design principles and points out that too many executable gestures will overextend the players. Further, the test shows that the goals of the game should be obvious and the complexity of the game logic should be simple and kept at a low level. Similarities between the logical behavior of the game and the real world foster the users’ understanding. Multiple interdependent tasks striving for a common goal as well as various objects, which must be combined with each other, should be used with care.